The federal government said it has granted 25 private refinery licences to companies between 2002 and now based on reviewed guidelines for refineries in the country.
The Department of Petroleum Resources,DPR, which made this known fact in a statement, said 21 firms were granted in the Licence to Establish (LTE) category, while four were given in the Approval to Construct (ATC) category.
The statement said three of the 25 licensed companies are billed to construct conventional stick-build plants while 22 will construct modular units with a proposed combined refining capacity of 1,429,000 barrels per day.
The DPR said it granted Licence to Establish to 21 companies with a validity period of 18 months in 2002, adding that in 2004, 17 out of the earlier granted LTE were granted Approval to Construct for a 24 month validity period
The agency said in 2007,it reviewed the existing guidelines and a new guiding document, “Guidelines for the Establishment of Hydrocarbon Processing Plants in Nigeria” was introduced to ensure that only committed investors were licensed.
